Monty Harper here. I'm a songwriter, performer and recording artist with more than twenty years of professional experience. I write songs for and with kids, songs about scientific research, and songs for clients. I teach songwriting and I perform for schools, libraries, and festivals in Oklahoma and often elsewhere around the country. This blog is where you'll find photos, songs, video, and announcements related to my latest projects. Enjoy!

Thursday, July 29, 2004

My how time flies. I just did my last summer reading program for 1994 here at the Schusterman-Benson branch library in Tulsa, and it was a great show! I did two programs, and the second one just couldn't have gone better.

The program room here has a beautiful wooden floor, which is great for the acoustics. There were lots of parents in the audience, and several families who were fans. The group was very attentive - "Take Me to Your Library" was getting big laughs at all the right spots. Even "Read Team USA," (this summer's new song) which is full of little puns that usually go over everyone's head, got a couple of good laughs for the first time. And this was probably the last time I'll perform it. Life is full of little ironies, innit?

Two more shows next week - Thursday 8/5/04 10:30 and 11:30 at the Pottery Barn Kids in Penn Square Mall, OKC - and Saturday 8/7/04 9:00-11:00 at the Farmer's Market in Muskogee - and then my calendar is clear to start some new projects!

Wednesday, July 28, 2004

This was a milestone! I just finished my 10th summer reading program here at the Watonga Public Library! I think that's a personal record for a recurring engagement - 10 years in a row! And I almost didn't recognize the building as I drove up; they've added a brand new program room!

I was speaking to one of the librarians here and she remembers my castle setpiece from 1995 when the theme was "Knights Alive in '95!" I traveled that summer with a huge cardboard castle and dragon which Lisa's aunt Delores painted for me. The mideaval theme will be back next summer, but ironically it was just this year that we repurposed the castle. We used it to decorate one whole wall of Evalyn's room! Ah, well, my days of fancy setpieces ended three years ago anyway - with Evalyn in our lives we no longer have room in the car or time in our day to mess with big backdrops.

Well back to the present. It was a fun program today as always. We didn't get to use the new room due to lack of air conditioning (next year!) so we crowded for the last time into the cozy corner back behind the stacks. I sang "Diving in the Deep Blue Sea," "Take Me to Your Library," "Read Team USA," "Lisa Lee Elizabeth" (by request), "The Frog Song," "Hanging Out With Heroes at the Library," and "Pop Up Sit Down."

This was the summer closer, so medals were awarded to kids who had read their quota, and tickets drawn for prizes. I added a CD to the prize pile in honor of my tenth visit here.

And then, as always, the kids got cookies and punch. Seems like every year in the past we've been outside in the oppressive heat, but it's rainy today, so we got to enjoy refreshments in the new program room. Very nice!

By the way, see that skinny black pole to my left in the photo? That's my new Bose personal amplification sound system. No more two big speakers up on poles! It's really cool.

Speaking of the photo, click on it for a bigger view. You'll also be able to flip through some more photos, and leave comments. Have fun!

Saturday, July 24, 2004

The list is a database of children's music radio programs. My dad is helping me keep the information up to date, and he recently finished a round of phone calls which allowed us to update most of the information.

The radio list is set up for artists to use in promoting their CDs and includes the submission policies of each program. However, it's also a great resource for parents. Use it to find kid-friendly radio programming near you!

Well, to tell you the truth, it's tough to find anything on air - there are only 66 entries right now and this covers the whole world! (I guess kids aren't a priority audience for ClearChannel.)

However, there are many programs nowdays that broadcast over the Internet, some of them 24/7. So check out the "Webcasts" link, and happy listening!